There's Still A Pulse
by Toyu
Summary: Set in the universe of the OVA Phantom: The Animation, Zwei's decision changes the alternate ending itself.


The roar of the surrounding flames was nothing more than a dull echo in the background of his mind, as Zwei stood frozen, his mind replaying what had occurred just a moment before in front of him. Ein's smile that shone brighter than any light, any flash from any gun that he had fired in the past six months as an assassin. Zwei is dimly aware of a voice in a drawn out cry saying her name over the sound of falling stone, metal and all-consuming crackle of the spreading fire. It's his own; his dark brown eyes desperately peering beyond the wall of fire that separated him from the giant slab of rock that had fallen where he had last seen Ein standing with a burning smile. Lizzie's yells for him to **leave, get out** as the place was crumbling on top of them fall on deaf ears as he moves forward, towards the fire, towards the rock like a ship sinking after its anchor in a turbulent sea.

A voice in the back of his head states _without her, the memories of your forgotten past will mean nothing, and you will be lost, full of regret and without a self-given reason to exist…_ The few memories of her that they had formed together over the past six months echo with each repetition of her name, with every numb footstep forward towards where she lay out of sight… _Ein_ her holding a teddy bear with a false smile on her face, _Ein,_ watching a movie in a theater together to pass the time… _Ein…!_ Noting her staring at a pendent on a golden metal string, the same one that coldly burned against his exposed skin in his torn pocket… _Ein!_ her, leaning against him after he had placed it around her neck, a symbol of hope and their bond… _EIIIIIIN!_ Her true smile that burned Zwei's soul, heart, and into his mind in what seemed like an eternity but was a few precious moments before the rock fell... _Ein, please be alright, Ein, don't die, Ein, Ein Please… Ein…_ Zwei agreed with the voice, as he knew without her in his life, he would truly become a tool of death for Inferno, losing what little of his humanity remained after his memories were taken, an empty shell of his current self.

The teen moves forward with the conviction that had lead many Japanese like himself into throwing their own lives away for a greater cause during World War Two, his intent to survive burning inside him. Several slabs of debris fall from above, and with the ease that had allowed him to survive everything the world had thrown at him in the past six months thus far he leaped backwards, an arm raised to his face. Zwei barely notes the flames that reach through the gaps in the wreckage of stone and twisted poles of iron as he leaps upon it, ignoring the sting to his eyes from the heat, raised dust and thickening smoke. His lungs protest along with the rest of his aching body as the adrenaline rush starts to ebb, his arm now covering his mouth to block more smoke from entering his burning lungs with each breath of soiled air. It seems like ages before he reaches the other side of the rock that his eyes remained solely on, relief filling him at the new sight of another large slab propping up the one that he had seen fall upon Ein.

Zwei gets down on his knees to peer underneath, half of him full of relief and the other full of fear at what he might see through the thickening smoke and roaring flames that flicker closer towards him. The stench of blood mixes with the burning sensation of smoke that trickles down the back of his throat and into his not functioning lungs make his head briefly spin. He gasps, coughing as he crawls forward, eyes watering with a mixture of relief and pain as he barely makes out the outline of Ein's body, her blood glistening in the illumination of the surrounding flames. Zwei reaches out with a trembling hand, the necklace at his side a cold reminder of what he survived this long for and swore to protect with his own life as he places two fingers against Ein's exposed wrist. For a moment the world freezes as he feels nothing underneath the two fingers, the voice in the back of his head coldly stating the dull comfort of that he could at least die next to her body, but then weakly, he feels it.

Zwei presses his fingers harder against her wrist, making sure that it was not a fluke or a trick of his oxygen deprived mind, but the feeling of her heartbeat against his sends waves of emotions through his core. The male assassin crawls backwards towards the opening, the start of a plan to remove the surrounding debris and rescue his predecessor already formulating in his mind. The sound of cracking concrete and a small shower of dust upon his back is all the warning he gets before he looks up, staring in horror at the shower of metal mixed with concrete that was falling directly towards him in slow motion. Once more his body moves instinctively as Zwei dives forward underneath the protection of the larger slab where Ein lay, his mind replaying the memory of falling debris before it catches up to his unregistered action.

He lands next to her body, arms instinctively wrapping around her as he burrows her head into his chest, desperate to protect his only reason for existing in the nightmarish hell that had been his known life. Zwei's eyes squeeze shut and he grits his teeth as the world goes dark with the whoosh of dust that swiftly fills the cave where the pair lay hidden. For a moment the male's world only knows the screech of metal, a final boom of concrete followed by the scattering of small stones that pelt his back, and then only silence broken by the mummer of unseen flames. After a few moments of not moving frozen in fear with the certainty that he had died fading away, Zwei slowly pries himself from Ein's unconscious body, harshly coughing as the dust begins to settle while he looks at the blocked entrance. A small moan is all it takes for his gaze to be torn away from the entrance to Ein's face, the tears freely fall from Zwei's eyes as he watches Ein's own slowly blink open and move towards him.

"Zew… why…?" she mummers before coughing as she inhales smoke and lingering dust instead of air, the look of pain on her face shattering Zwei's heart even as it soars with joy, because she is alive.

"Ein… You're… alive!" he coughs, blinking back the tears as his head starts to ache from a lack of breathable air, an overload of information from his body, and the repeating thought _Ein's Alive!_

"You… Shouldn't be here…" Ein rasps, her fingers once so very very strong now weak in strength, gently squeeze his own when his hand moves from her wrist to intertwine with her own hand.

"A world without you… Is a world…" Zwei painfully coughs as he struggles to inhale enough air to speak, deciding to place his tired head on the ground turned towards Ein's face, the tears from her understanding eyes as she sadly smiles at him causing his lungs to constrict even more. "…I don't want to live in… Ein…"

Zwei knows his time is running out, and yet he feels at peace lying here, surrounded by rock, metal, and stifling growing heat from the flames he can see beginning to emerge from the blocked entrance. His own vision dimming at the edges, Zwei watches as Ein's eyes slowly close while her bright smile fades away, too tired to continue. Zwei reaches into his torn pocket and removes the necklace he had given her, his sapping energy just enough to drag it back towards her limp hand and intertwine the metal band with her fingers. The smoke is so thick that it's nearly impossible for him to see the movement of a smile returning to Ein's face, but he is able to see the glistening tears that run down her face in the light of the growing flames. As his vison fully disappears the last thing Zwei sees is the gold and ruby pendent of the necklace in the fire's light, glowing as if to act as a beacon of love and hope for the trapped pair of assassins. His fingers extend to her wrist, counting even as it fades along with his dying consciousness, barely aware of the feeling of two fingers touching his own wrist to do the same…

 _There's still a pulse…_


End file.
